Approving FAQs with Workflow

Clarity’s initial site is in place and the first pieces of content were added by the content manager directly. It’s time for other users to begin creating content for Clarity. To aid this effort, review processes are required to ensure the quality and consistency of published content. You’ll use Liferay’s workflow processes for these reviews. Clarity wants its customer advocacy specialist, Rex Randle, to turn common customer questions into FAQ entries, published after review and approval by the content manager, Olivia O’Neal. Preston Palmer, the site administrator, can manage workflows in the site to set this up.

1. Log in as Preston Palmer, the site administrator.

   Email Address: [e-mail]

   Password: learn

2. Open the Site Menu () then click Configuration → Workflow.

3. Scroll down to Web Content Article and click Edit.

4. Choose Single Approver and click Save.

   

Now all web content articles added in the site go through a review process as defined by the Single Approver workflow definition. Create a new FAQ to see how it works:

1. Log in as Rex Randle, the custom advocacy specialist who fields customer questions at the [e-mail] email address (visible in the footer of the site).

   Email Address: [e-mail]

   Password: learn

2. Open the Site Menu (); then click Content & Data → Web Content.

3. Click the Clarity Site FAQs article to open it for editing and scroll to the last field group.

4. Click Add FAQ () on the last field group:

   

5. In the FAQ, enter this question:

   Can I order just a single lens?
   

6. Enter the answer:

   Not right now, but stay tuned. We plan to offer monocles in the future, and at that point we will also sell single lenses.
   

7. Click Submit for Workflow at the top of the page.

   The button used to say Publish, but it changes when workflow is enabled.

The content is in the workflow, marked as Pending in the administrative UI. It’s also marked as Approved, because the first version of the article, before Rex’s recent edits and before workflow was enabled, is available and published on the FAQs display page. The pending status means that the latest version of the item is unavailable for publication on the display page.

The content manager, Olivia O’Neal, must review Rex’s new content.

1. Log in as Olivia O’Neal.

   Email Address: [e-mail]

   Password: learn

2. Open the Site Menu (); then click Content & Data → Web Content.

3. In the page header, click the user avatar to to open Olivia’s personal menu and select My Workflow Tasks.

   All workflow tasks assigned directly to a user are listed in the My Workflow Task widget’s Assigned to Me tab.

4. Click the Assigned to My Roles tab.

   Workflow tasks that Olivia O’Neal can claim because she’s part of a role defined in the workflow appear here.

5. Click the asset’s Actions button () and select Assign to Me.

   

6. Enter the comment I’ll take this one–Olivia in the Comment text field, then click Done.

   Now the task appears in Assigned to Me, and the content review proceeds.

7. Click the name of the pending Clarity Site FAQs item in My Workflow Tasks. A preview of the FAQ appears, with the review status. The preview barely shows anything, so Olivia must look at it more closely:

   

8. Click View Diffs ().

   

9. Review what changed, then close the pop-up window.

10. Click Actions () and select Approve.

11. Enter the comment Looks good! and click Done.

Since the submission is approved and there is only one reviewer in the Single Approver workflow, the task is moved to the Completed section of the Assigned to Me tab. The asset is published and viewable on the Clarity Site FAQs display page.

This simple setup works, but the same workflow is used for all Clarity’s web content articles. In reality, Clarity wants FAQs to use one workflow and events to use another. To accomplish this, some changes are needed:

1. Move the Clarity Site FAQs article into a web content folder.

2. Configure the folder to accept only FAQs and to use its own workflow.

3. Do the same for events.

4. Remove the site level workflow configuration.

First put all FAQs into a web content folder:

1. Open the Site Menu () then click Content & Data → Web Content.

2. Click New → Folder.

3. Enter the name FAQs and click Save.

4. Go back to the root folder and check the box for Clarity Site FAQs.

5. Click Move (), then Select.

6. Expand the folders under Home and choose FAQs.

7. Click Move.

Next, configure the folder to accept only FAQs and configure workflow for the folder:

1. Go into the FAQs folder if you’re not already there.

2. Click Information () to open the folder’s information panel.

   

3. Click Actions () → Edit, then expand Structure Restrictions and Workflow.

4. Select Define Specific Restrictions and Workflow for This Folder (FAQs).

5. Click Choose Structure, then click FAQs from the Structures list.

6. For Workflow, select Single Approver.

   

   The FAQs folder uses the Single Approver workflow and only allows content with the FAQs structure.

7. Repeat the procedure to put events into a folder named Events and configure the folder to use the Single Approver workflow.

8. Sign out with Olivia O’Neal.

9. Sign in with Preston Palmer.

10. Go to Site Menu () then click Configuration → Workflow. Disable the site level workflow configuration for web content articles.

Now Clarity uses folder-based web content management, where each folder is configured to accept a certain type of content and use a certain workflow.

Next: enable publications and create a publication template for Clarity’s special events.

Relevant Concepts

• Web Content
• Activating Workflow
• Reviewing Assets in a Workflow